Playing the market with great panache

Me & My Money Series (Sunday Times)

This guy does not invest in Singapore property....

Apr 17, 2011
me & my money
Playing the market with great panache
Frenchman juggles risks with level head and keen eye on profit
By Lorna Tan, Senior Correspondent

As the regional head of investment and market solutions at Societe Generale Private Banking (Asia Pacific), Mr Marc Lansonneur has to be convinced of an investment strategy before recommending it to relationship managers at the bank.

For his personal investments, he believes in handling them himself. He maintains two separate portfolios: In the core portfolio set aside for his long-term needs, he keeps the bulk or 80 per cent of his wealth; the remainder goes into his 'opportunistic' portfolio, which allows him to take on riskier positions when opportunities arise.

Mr Lansonneur, 46, reviews his core portfolio - equities, fixed income, real estate, commodities and cash - on a quarterly basis. He chooses not to review it too often because he does not want his investment decisions to be 'polluted by news'. He does not want to jeopardise his long-term perspective - something many investors fall prey to.

In contrast, he reviews his opportunistic portfolio more often, on a weekly basis. He might take short market positions through currency options and futures when he notices any over-selling or over-buying in the markets.

'I usually turn to a combination of fundamental and technical analysis (charting) to select these positions, with a heavy focus on the risk-reward ratio. The profit that can be made should be at least twice the maximum loss,' he said.

He graduated from Ecole Superieure des Sciences Economiques et Commerciales in Paris with an MBA in 1989. At Societe Generale, he has been attached to various divisions. His work has taken him to cities such as London, Hong Kong, Taipei and Sydney. He came to Singapore in 2005.

He is married to Taiwanese Yeh Shu-yuan, 45. They have three children, Claire, 15, Laure, 13, and Raphael, eight.

Q: Are you a spender or saver?

As a Frenchman, I have been influenced by a strong national saving culture - this is especially important for me as a father of three children since I want to send them to colleges and universities abroad. I save around 60 per cent of my annual income. However, I will not hesitate to spend on family vacations that let us have a great time together.

Q: How much do you charge to your credit cards every month?

I use mainly two credit cards regularly, and I charge at least $10,000 every month, which covers most of my professional and personal expenditure. I pay the bill in full every month.

Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?

For my core portfolio, where the bulk of my family wealth is, equity takes up 45 per cent, fixed income 15 per cent, real estate 25 per cent, commodities 5 per cent and cash 10 per cent.

Over the past six months, I've increased my equity exposure because I am definitely bullish about equity markets and the yields of certain European shares are very attractive.

I'm thinking of decreasing my exposure to commodities because current market levels seem toppish. My cash holdings are in currencies such as the euro and Singdollar, and recently, sterling. For this core portfolio, I would consider a return of 8 to 9 per cent to be very decent.

For my opportunistic portfolio, the funds are kept in riskier positions, which could include longer-term investments in a startup food and beverage company in France, or short market positions through currency options and futures. I target a higher return of 15 to 20 per cent for this portfolio since the risk is higher.

Q: Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?

My brother and I were raised in a rented single-storey, four-bedroom house in Provence, in the south of France. Both my parents were in public service. My mother stopped working when my brother was born.

Her family were emigres from Italy during World War II and they suffered a lot during those difficult times. Saving money, long-term planning, appreciating the real value of the simple things in life - all these things became an obsession for them.

As a child, I was heavily influenced by this family predilection. I took on summer jobs such as wine harvesting in Provence when I was 14, and when I was a student in Paris, I paid my way by working as a computer trainer at a friend's consulting company.

Q: How did you get interested in investing?

My first job out of business school was as a currency options trader at an investment bank in London in 1989. Later, when I had managed to accumulate some savings, I invested in European shares and French government bonds. I enjoyed good yields of 9 to 10 per cent on bonds in 1990.

Q: What property do you own?

In 1998, I bought a two-storey, five-bedroom house with a swimming pool and a land area of 15,000 sq m in Provence. It was my first property investment and the French real estate market had hit bottom then. The value of the land has risen seven times since. The house is now a family residence and holiday getaway.

I also inherited a house by the Mediterranean Sea in France from my grandmother in 2007. We plan to rent out the double-storey, four-bedroom house after the renovation works are completed.

In Asia, my wife and I own a property at Tainan in Taiwan that is rented out. We bought the 120 sq m, three-bedroom apartment in 2000. Its value has gone up 50 per cent.

Q: What's the most extravagant thing you have bought?

I like to surprise my wife with jewellery even when it's not a special occasion. I cannot disclose the prices because she shouldn't know how much they cost. But the money was worth it because she is a fabulous woman.

Q: What's your retirement plan?

As a French national, I am entitled to pension funds when I retire. Anyway, for the time being, I really have no plans to retire at a set age.

I would probably shuttle between two main residences, in Europe and Asia, for family reasons. But life is hard to predict - it also depends on our children and where they prefer to live.

Q: Home is...

We rent a three-storey, four-bedroom cluster house in the Bukit Timah area.

Q: I drive...

My wife drives a silver-grey Mercedes B class while I have a cobalt-blue Renault Cabriolet.

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WORST AND BEST BETS

Q: My worst investment to date...

My first currency options investment in 1990 with four friends in London. We wanted to make quick money to pay for a lavish exotic Caribbean holiday. We bought a call on the greenback and Japanese yen, hoping to double our investment outlay. At that time, I invested about $5,000 but it dropped to zero after two months! Instead of a nice vacation, we ended up camping in the south of France.

The lesson was bitter but very useful, as I realised the importance of proper planning and analysis.

Q: My best investment to date...

That has to be my wine collection. I have about 2,000 bottles in Singapore, London and France. They cost me about $40,000 but are now worth about $250,000. I am a wine lover and have been buying wines since 1995, when my first daughter was born. I mostly purchased Burgundy, Rhone and Bordeaux Primeurs in the good vintage years.

Although I had initially bought the wines to age and to drink, I find that I can now sell certain bottles of my Lafites and Latours at stratospheric prices (above $2,000 a bottle for average vintage) and buy cheaper wines with better value. So I am considering this as an asset-class for me. My cost price for these bottles was less than $200 a bottle in 2008.

For the 2008 vintage, which was completely underpriced when released, I managed to pay for all my wine of this vintage by just reselling 20 per cent of my Primeur purchases.

I plan to still keep some for personal consumption on special occasions such as my kids' weddings, birthdays and share them with my friends. That's what wine is for eventually, to be celebrated and shared in happy moments.